Love In the Time of Dinosaurs [Zach Mitchell]

Chapter One

Lia didn't want to get up.

While she wanted to work on her motorcycle and spend time with the raptors, spending quality time with her pillow seemed more gratifying than getting up and actually doing something. Combining the fact that Lia was very stubborn and not a morning person, it took a lot of effort just to get her out of bed and ready for the day.

Unfortunately for Lia, Owen Grady was the perfect man for the job.

Lia, being Lia, would usually ignore her uncle's calls to get up. She would just give him the middle finger, roll over, and go back to sleep every time he tried to wake her up.

Sleep was something that Lia treasured more than life itself, something Owen was more than aware of. This was why her call from the land of dreams consisted of her lovable yet infuriating uncle and the even more infuriating megaphone.

In other words, mornings with Lia gave Owen Grady a special kind of joy.

Which brings us back to now.

"RISE AND SHINE, LIA!!"

A yelp escaped her lips as Lia spasmed, flailing from her wonderful bed and onto the hard floor of the bungalow Owen and Lia shared, taking her blanket with her. But Owen wasn't done. He was parading around his niece's room, holding his new megaphone proudly. 

(Lia 'accidentally' broke the last one, but of course, that didn't stop him from buying another one).

"Motherf--" Lia muttered tiredly, peeking out from under her blanket. She gave her uncle her famous 'death glare,' which, given who she was related to, wasn't difficult. Owen, already dressed in a beige T-shirt, cargo pants, and his aggravating shit-eating grin, didn't see it. He was still yowling into his megaphone. 

"SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK! RISE AND SHINE! UP AND AT 'EM! SLEEP IS FOR THE--"

A well-aimed pillow to the face cut Owen off from his very loud one-sided screaming match. He looked down at his niece, whose expression promised murder as she met his gaze, massaging her ears. Then she predictably began to burrow back under her blanket. He chuckled, bending down and unceremoniously ripped them back off.

"Up and at'em, squirt. We've got a big day ahead of us," Owen crowed as Lia inwardly contemplated her life's choices, finally settling for the easy way and (very slowly) getting up.

"You say that every day, Uncle Owen," Lia retorted as she set her blankets back neatly on the bed and retrieved her pillow at her uncle's feet. She tossed it back onto her bed before facing her uncle, crossing her arms over her chest. A frown marred her face, which had changed drastically from when Owen remembered her as a child when her father (his brother) was still alive. She blinked the last bit of sleepiness away. Rubbing her eyes, she trudged past Owen, her velociraptor socks still encasing her feet, which were small for a seventeen-year-old girl.

"Pancakes?" Lia suggested as she walked into the kitchen, her uncle following.

"Yeah, kid. You get dressed, I'll--" Owen started, but his niece suddenly cut him off, whirling around on the spot and pointing a finger at him.

"Yeah, no. You are not making the pancakes this time, Uncle Owen, or any time," she said, putting her hands together as if she were praying and pointing at him, elbows bent. "I mean, I love you, but a girl needs her pancakes."

Lia tried not to smirk at her uncle's offended expression. "What's wrong with my pancakes?"

"Nothing! It's just... I'd rather not have them charred," she said innocently, turning her back to him to gather the ingredients while handing him a soda. If Lia had to be honest, her uncle was a decent cook. But after he'd accidentally burned her favorite breakfast treat when she was twelve, Lia took it upon herself to make the pancakes for the both of them to prevent any oncoming 'disasters.' Blueberry pancakes had a special place in Lia's heart. However, she claimed that she wasn't one to get visibly emotional over it.